Riveting



Patented F eb. 26, 1946 Ypsilanti, ltich.,assignorsl toFordMotorCompany, Dearborn, Mich., a-eorporation of DelawareApplicationsepteniber 12, 1942,'tSerialNo.-458;@98 -6 Claims. (01.78448)J'Thisinvention relatesto the-artof riveting; "land-"more particularly,toa riveting apparatus and a method oi use of thev apparatus as appliedin dr'iving airframe rivets 'and the like.

'fI'he-f'presentinvention -is used particularly in the construction ofairfram'es for vaircraft in which-'as is `generally known, manythousands oi rivets'in-ust be Aused tosec-ure-the componentsheetslandfstructural parts inthe desired-relationship. lI-nthe normalprocedure of drivingthese-'rivets the hole' is drilled and reamed, therivet is insertedtherei-n and a pneumatic riveting gun is applied tothehead oi the rivet by the gun operator'while the bucker on'theopposite-side of the 'sheet beingriveted holds'a bucking bar againstV`tlieShahk' of "the rivet. The combined action of the 'hammer andtheinertia of the buck-inglbar heads up the shank and this vin turn drawsthe 'components being riveted into theA desired relationship. However,since the Vgu-noperator is on theliead` side of the rivet on which nochange takes place during the driving operation andl the bucker is theonly one in a position to see what progress is being made, heretoforesignals loetween the operator and bucker have been necessary to indicatewhether a suflcient number of blows have been applied to the rivet bythe gun, if more were needed, and if so, how many. This sort ofoperation is possible in isolated instances where communication betweenthe two operators is permissible, but when high-production methods arefollowed and it is essential that scores of riveters work simultaneouslyon the same component, communication between the opposite sides thereofis obviously not feasible. However, signals of various sorts have beenworked out to convey the necessary information between the two operatorsand in extreme cases telephonie or other communications have been usedto permit the necessary interchange of information.

Obviously, this is a time-wasting procedure at best and in most casesresults in an increased percentage of defective rivets which must beremoved and redriven. To avoid this, the apparatus of this invention andthe method of its use have been devised by means of which these signalsare no longer required and control of the riveting operation is placedin the hands of the bucker who alone can determine the action whichshould be taken at each step of the process.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thearrangement, construction Vcompanying drawing in which thesingle'figurel is ran elevation yshowing rthe device in tuse underactual conditions. l

Referring -to' the drawing, l indicates generally a rivetingf gun of`conventional constructionghaving-an operating valve normallycontrolledf by the trigger l l an'dfsupplied.with'motor uid through thepipe'I-2. Reference'character I3 indicatesthe `bucking bar which is;usually merelyafsolid-pi'ece of metalll havinga working-face' triand'fofffsufcient mass to provide the necessary: inertia. :The work isindicated'iat l5 and consists oftwoplates fl which-are to be securedtogetherfbyftheirivet il. This vshowing-is merely illustrative 'and thedevice 'may beV used in connection-with. anyV one of 'with-'head' i8*upon the gun side. Bucking `bar-'i3 is engaged with the rivetsshank i9and. .the riveting 'gun lo is thenoperated in the usual method to head.up the shank. -In the present device; an

Iinterconnection'generally indicated at 2l! iszprovided between thebucking bar l 3 and the riveting gun lll, For the purpose ofillustration, this takes the form of a sleeve 2i adjustably mounted onthe bucking bar I3 and having an extending ear 22 upon which is pivoteda bell crank trigger 23 which is normally urged to an outward positionby the spring 24. The bell crank is connected by means of a wire 25 in aBowden cable 26 to the riveting gun lll to which the cable 26 is securedby brackets 2l and the activating wire 25 of the cable is secured to thetrigger I l. tion may be through a loop 28 or other lost motion deviceto permit operation of the trigger Il independently of the wire 25. Y

Accordingly, under the present arrangement the rivet is inserted by thegun operator and the riveting gun engaged with its head. The bucker thenbrings the bucking bar into engagement with the shank and when this isdone depresses the bell crank trigger 23 on the bucking bar. This,through the Bowden cable 2B, operates the trigger Il on the gun l0 andstarts the pneumatic operation of the hammer. It will be noted that thebucking operator throughout preferably controls the operation of the gunas he alone is in a position to see the state of the head being formedon the rivets shank. However, the gun operator may in certain conditionsdesire toloperate the gun and he may do this by depressing the triggeron that instrument. Furthermore, a slide safety 29 is provided on thegun lll so that Ithe bucking operator may be restrained from operatingthe circuit control until the gun is This connec- 4 properly fixed. Thisgives the gun operator a chance to engage the rivet head before removingthe safety and thereafter the control passes to the hands of the buckingoperator throughout the riveting operation.

While a Bowden control is shown in this instance it is obvious that anyinterconnecting means may be used between the two instrumentalities.That chosen has been adapted to actual production and is shown becauseof its simplicity and the ease with which it may be understood.

A principal advantage of this device is that it transfers the control ofthe process to one operator who is in a position to observe the stepsthat should be taken in carrying out the process. In essence, it isadmittedly a simple device. In practice, the results speak forthemselves. The time saved in being able to operate without theinterchange of signals is in itself no inconsiderable item and when thisis coupled with the saving from the avoidance of defective rivets due tothe misunderstanding of signals (which is understandable when manyriveting teams are working in close proximity on the same structure) itsvalue increases. Furthermore, both operators are fully protected and itis no longer possible for the gun to be applied prematurely by eitherand the work damaged thereby. Finally, both operators have at theirdisposal independently operable signal means if they wish to utilize theinterconnection as such.

Some changes may be made in the arrangement, construction andcombination of various parts of the improved device such as the methodherein described without departing from the spirit of the invention andit is the intention to cover by the claims such changes as mayreasonably be included within the scope thereof.

The invention claimed is:

l. In a riveting apparatus, a gun, a valve thereon to control theoperation of said gun, a bucking means, a connection between said valveand said bucking means, operating means on said bucking meansco-operating with said connection to operate said valve on said gun andmeans on said gun to selectively forestall operation of said valve.

2. In a riveting apparatus, a riveting gun, a valve thereon, a buckingmeans, a valve control -on said bucking means, a connection between thevalve control on said bucking means and the valve on said gun wherebysaid valve may be remotely operated from said bucking means and `meansto permit the operation of said valve at said gun independently of saidvalve control on said bucking means.

3. The structure of claim 2 further characterized in that means areprovided on said gun to selectively forestall the operation of saidvalve by said bucking means valve control.

4. The structure of claim 2 further characterized in that said valvecontrol on said bucking means is slidably secured thereto to permitadjustment thereof with respect to the working face of said buckingmeans.

5. In a riveting apparatus, a pneumatic riveting gun, a valve meanscontrolling the admission of motor uid thereto, a bucking means, a valvecontrol mounted on said bucking means and including a trigger, aflexible cable connection between said trigger and said valve means, asafety means at said gun to forestall operation of said Vvalve from saidbucking means, and means at said gun to operate said gun independentlyof the control on said bucking means.

6. In apparatus for heading an installed rivet, a heading dolly formanual application to an unheaded rivet end by an operator, a mechanicalriveting hammer for manual application to the other rivet end by asecond operator, and means under control of first operator for effectingthe actuation of the hammer.

EDWARD F. HINKLE. ALAN STEWART.

